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[Chris Joondeph](/@chris-joondeph-6593015153), known as "Authentic Traveling", is a travel content creator from the United States with a particular focus on food, culture, and unique storytelling. He is known for his fun, engaging videos that really make it feel like you’re traveling along with him.
*This article is part of an interview series with [Top Travel Massive Creators](/creators) and is made possible with the support of Stay22. Thanks Chris for taking the time to share your story!*
How did you get started as a travel creator?
Since I was young, I had an insatiable desire to see the world. But it wasn't until I was around 21 years old that I began traveling by myself for the first time visiting Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina. This trip really inspired me to travel further eventually leading to my first job after college in Thailand as an English teacher.
I used this as an opportunity to start my travel blog, Authentic Traveling, which was initially focused on how-to guides for visiting off-the-beaten-path destinations in Thailand, including remote treehouses in the mountains or unique homestays with local hill tribe families.
As blogs moved to social media, I started creating short form videos which really took off. The idea was to just document my travel journey telling unique stories about the places I visited. I offered a fresh perspective which people really liked and now I have an audience of over 3M followers and create content full time.
How would you describe your content and your audience?
I focus on lesser-known destinations while showcasing how one can travel and visit those places. What makes my content unique is how I actually explain things from the logistics of travel to the culture and background history that make a place unique and worth visiting. I'm not just showing beautiful destinations and travel photos but rather giving the critical context behind each destination which you often do not see. People always tell me that my content inspires them to travel to the places I feature and shows them how to do it.
My audience is typically Millennial and Gen X frequent travelers primarily US-based but living and traveling abroad. They are usually looking for inspiration for their next trip. I often get recognized the most in airports and embassies.
What platforms do you create on, and which has been most important to your growth?
I primarily create short form videos that I post on [Instagram](www.instagram.com/authentic_traveling/), [TikTok](www.tiktok.com/@authentic_traveling), [YouTube Shorts](www.youtube.com/@AuthenticTraveling/shorts), and [Facebook](www.facebook.com/authentictraveling.org/). I enjoy telling these short stories in an easily digestible format.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7-M6ejCBqA
I also have a presence on [YouTube](www.youtube.com/@AuthenticTraveling) with long-form travel vlogging. I want to focus more on this platform in the future.
What has been the biggest challenge you have faced as a travel creator?
My biggest challenge has been turning frequent attention and an engaged audience into actual money that can pay the bills at the end of the day. Initially my page was just a hobby and it blew up while I was still working full-time so I just enjoyed making the videos but generating an income was never my primary focus. Now that I do this full-time, I have made significant efforts in networking to ensure I am top of mind for brands and destination marketers.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=36Wtd1iSWmI
I also launched my own travel business focused on [group tours to Africa](authentictraveling.co/nigeria-group-tour/). So far, we have had over 100 clients in our first year and this is where I have been able to build a more sustainable income stream.
What does your content creation process look like?
I like to read a lot about the destinations I visit. I enjoy diving into the history and culture and make an effort to ask as many questions as possible while traveling there. I am looking for the story that is interesting and unique which will serve as the "hook" for my content. Once I have the inspiration, I will turn that into a script adding in interesting pieces of information that help build the story.
While traveling, I am capturing b-roll and filming anything that might be useful to help convey my message. Once I get home, I edit it all together with voiceover and music to put out the content that typically does so well on my pages. I will also occasionally do some live reaction videos while traveling as the inspiration comes. In these videos I talk directly to the camera and share my experience when the moment is right.
When ready I like to post everything as a "series" on a certain destination, think 5 videos on Oman, for example, featuring the logistics, the food, my reaction to something that happened, the cultural context, and a deep dive into a topic like their famous frankincense one can buy.
How do you work with travel brands and tourism boards?
I've worked with a number of tourism boards from Guatemala to Kazakhstan and Eswatini. I have always found tourism boards very easy to work with as they have all given me freedom to come and create content in my own style that will resonate with my audience.
Its all about trusting the creator to know what's going to work best while providing a curated experience meant to highlight and reenforce areas of focus for the tourism board.
A great example is my [recent collaboration with AirAsia](www.youtube.com/shorts/ZtwH2FeGxkM). They let me set my own itinerary and travel around Asia and Australia visiting the places I knew would do best with my audience. We highlighted their airline as the best carrier to take you these places but otherwise the content felt organic and fun because I was allotted so much creative freedom rather than needing to focus exclusively on the product.
What do you think tourism boards most undervalue about working with creators like you?
When tourism boards work with me, they get access to my large audience of people that are actively looking for inspiration to book my next trip. This is a given. But what most miss is that my visit is going to continue to pay dividends well after the trip ends with the value of search. As I am a large established content creator, my videos are going to be the first to pop up when someone searches a destination on Google or within the social media platforms.
My informational videos are even appearing in AI overviews now. This is an opportunity for the tourism board to highlight new investments, specific hotels, or places they want to encourage people to visit. People are searching social media platforms now more than ever for travel itineraries and things to do, and this is highly undervalued by most tourism boards.
What are your top tips for being successful with affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing can be challenging with short-form video but not necessarily impossible. Affiliate marketing works best when people are ready to book. On social media they are often just looking for inspiration. Affiliate marketing tends to work best on blogs as someone might search "best hotels in X" before landing on a blog as they are actively looking to book the hotel now.
For social media, one needs to give the viewers a link they can come back to later, possibly months later, when they book the trip. The best way to do this is through a curated list of your recommendations always available in your bio and/or using services like ManyChat to send out links so it will be in people's inbox for later.
People remember "that hotel you featured in that video" but the friction is in connecting them back when they are ready to book and that is why building the groundwork and having the links available is so important to start so they can easily go back to your profile and find it.
What advice would you give to someone starting out as a travel creator today?
Make as much content as you possibly can of all different styles and see what works. Do not be ashamed to copy other creators. Great painters started out copying other work for practice until they got their footing and built their own style. You need to get the reps in until you can formulate your own style and start to build your audience. Ideally find a style that is easy to produce so you can put out more content and get more data points. If you spend too much time working on one video, you will burn out before you get started. Start your travel in a more affordable place to live like Southeast Asia which will give you more runway as it will take some time before you start earning anything from you content.
My next suggestion is to network as much as possible. Attend the major travel conferences like Travel Massive, TBEX, ITB, Traverse, and WTM using these connections to land trips with tourism boards. Almost all of my press trips have come through networking. I literally DM'd the Minister of Tourism for Guatemala about one of his videos which led to my very first press trip ever.
Who inspires you — in travel, in content creation, or beyond?
My content has always had this educational angle so I enjoy creators that try explain the world whether travel, geography, history, or just excellent storytelling and incorporate a lot of that into my own content.
Some of my favorite creators: [Surreal_Traveler](www.instagram.com/surreal_traveler/), [Geography Now](www.instagram.com/geographynow_official), [Tayo Aina](www.youtube.com/@TayoAinaFilms) and [Colin Duthie](www.youtube.com/@ColinDuthie).
What does the Travel Massive community mean to you?
Travel Massive has been a huge help in networking and meeting more people within the travel industry. The real value has been in-person meet ups that have allowed me to build my network and meet so many people.
As everything has gone online, there is now even more value in personal human to human connection and it is these events that have been a huge boost in my career.
All you need is to sow one seed by meeting the right person who can then introduce you to the next and on and on.
What's next
At the moment, I have visited 171 countries and I am trying to do a "final run" to get almost all of them by early 2027. I will be visiting Nepal and Bhutan and a number of Pacific Islands later this year in an attempt to finish almost all the countries in Asia/Oceania leaving me with just a handful spread around the world to finish up.
I'm super excited that on this trip I will be working with the tourism boards for Bhutan and Solomon Islands and I'm hoping I might be able to land a couple more before the trip starts off later this year.
Aside from that, we are hosting a number of tours this year and next through [Authentic Tours](authentictraveling.co). We are launching more trips to Nigeria and Ethiopia next year and hope to add more African destinations as we continue to grow.
Great article, Chris. Weldone!
Hi there, I'm Yasser, the founder of Booken.
I used to run a tours and activities agency in Brussels, starting out as a solo guide first, then growing into a decent-size team, so I lived that juggle.
Then after 2020, I decided to spend a few years working in tech, specially around AI, and once I saw how good the technology had become at handling the busywork, I decided to build something for operators.
Booken takes the operational busywork off the operator's plate (assigning guides, guest comms, day-of changes, channel sync, turning enquiries into bookings), run by talking to your own AI agent.
It sits above your existing booking engine and takes day-to-day operations off your team: guide and staff assignment, guest communications, day-of changes and disruptions, OTA and channel coordination, and turning enquiries into confirmed bookings. You operate it by talking to your own AI agent.
👉 Try it out at getbooken.com
Booken is perfect for operators with a team or guides to coordinate and a real, regularly running catalog. Any booking stack, any size, anywhere.
If that sounds like you, reply here or grab 15 minutes with me: cal.com/yasser-barona-oc4xiv/booken-first-call
The youtube video doesn't seem to be loading correctly on the post. I leave the link here, in case anyone else have the same issue: youtu.be/aaRygFs3SIk
Hi Yasser, the video in the post works for me - DM me with any details if it's not working and I'll take a look. Thanks!
I love this idea and the tool - it’s a very needed one on the market I feel. Looks smooth, saves time and what feels most useful to me, keeps a lot of thing on one place and organised.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Planning a trip used to mean hours (sometimes days) of YouTube vlogs, Reddit threads, and blog posts, piecing together a day-by-day plan from a dozen different sources. Some people genuinely love that process. Others just want to get to the good part: the trip itself. I'm one of the people who love creating travel itineraries.
One question has been sitting in the back of my mind while building a travel planner app: what part of trip planning do people actually enjoy?
When I ask friends why they love planning a trip, almost nobody says it's because they enjoy comparing exchange rates, checking opening hours, figuring out which neighborhoods make sense geographically, or discovering that a restaurant they saved closed three years ago.
What they enjoy is imagining themselves there. Finding the café they'd happily spend an afternoon in. Discovering a neighborhood they hadn't heard of. Choosing between hiking through a national park or wandering local markets. The excitement comes from the possibilities — not from the logistics.
That distinction has changed the way I think about AI in travel. Rather than replacing the planning process, I think AI is most valuable when it quietly handles the repetitive work in the background:
• Organizing days geographically instead of zigzagging across a city
• Checking whether attractions are actually open
• Factoring in weather, budgets, transit times, and local events
• Suggesting alternatives when plans change
The human still decides what kind of trip they want. AI simply makes it easier to build that trip.
Of course, there are risks. If every itinerary comes from the same prompt, every traveler starts seeing the same restaurants, the same viewpoints, and the same "hidden gems." That's not discovery — it's another algorithmic feed.
I've been experimenting with ways to avoid that by grounding recommendations in real places and encouraging neighborhood-level exploration instead of checklist tourism. It's made me realize the hardest part isn't generating an itinerary — it's preserving the feeling that you're discovering a place rather than having it dictated to you.
I've been testing this with a small app I'm building on the side (Routinex.Travel) using my own family trips, and it's made me curious where other people land.
Does having an AI generate the framework free you up to focus on the parts you actually care about — flights, hotel, that one restaurant you've been wanting to try? Or does it strip out something valuable about the planning process itself?
So I'm curious how others in the travel industry see it, especially those of you closer to the content/creator side. As AI becomes a bigger part of travel planning, where do you think the line is? What parts of planning should always remain human, and what parts are you happy to hand over to AI?
Hi Travel Massive, I'm Ankita, a kiwi founder based in Sydney, and recently moved from London.
I've travelled 56 countries, and I'll say plainly what that taught me: the difference between a great trip and a rough one is never the destination. It's what you know before you land.
I got fined on a tram in Sofia because nobody mentions you need to validate a paper ticket. I've paid the tourist price for taxis in more cities than I can count. That information existed. It just wasn't written anywhere travellers actually look, because generic travel content is written for everyone, which means it serves no one.
Preparation is the most underrated travel skill, and almost nothing in the market treats it that way. Booking tools assume the trip starts at the flight. It doesn't. It starts with knowing the place.
So I built FigFinder.
How FigFinder works
You tell Fig your budget and travel style, and it builds a complete guide around you: day-by-day plans, plus the layer I believe every traveller needs and almost nobody has, the destination-specific rules, day zero landing kit, common scams, safety basics, and practical essentials like finding a doctor abroad, including a discounted eSIM.
I also developed a version for travel agents (figfinder.ai/pro) that turns enquiries into structured briefs, shaped by conversations with agents across five continents who all described the same problem: the first 20 minutes of every enquiry lost to chasing basics.
👋 A question for travel professionals
You see thousands of travellers a year. What do they consistently get wrong before departure? That answer is exactly what I'm building into these guides.
👉 I'm looking for travellers and travel content creators to try FigFinder AI.
If you're interested, please check out the Programs section in the footer at figfinder.ai (Refer & Earn, Creator Programme), or feel free to connect with me.
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Hi Ankita, thanks for sharing FigFinder with the Travel Massive community.
I created and purchased a Tokyo guide for an upcoming trip and it was quite an easy process. One suggestion would be to have a responsive layout so it's easier to read on desktop. Hope that is helpful feedback.
See you soon at a Sydney meetup later this year!
Hi everyone, I'm the founder of VeloPlanner.
I'm pleased to share that VeloPlanner's mobile apps are now complete!
🚴♀️ About VeloPlanner: VeloPlanner's app allow cyclists to browse curated official routes like EuroVelo with guides, reviews, and accommodation info, adapt any route to your trip, check surface types or explore community created routes. Find campsites and transport along the way, use routes offline, and navigate.
📊 Current numbers: 80k+ installs and 90k registered users.
🤳 Download (Android and iOS) at veloplanner.com/app
Do you work with a destination that wants to reach cycling tourists at the planning stage? Please get in contact and I'm happy to talk!
[Valerie Hansen](/@valerie-hansen-4177533890) is the founder of Maple Leopard Travel, inspiring women 50+ to embrace adventure and discover the world beyond their comfort zone. A Portugal travel expert and Top TripAdvisor Collective Trip Expert, she creates immersive itineraries across Portugal, Italy, the USA, Canada, and beyond. Valerie's itineraries are a blend of history, culture, culinary, and authentic local experiences.
*This article is part of an interview series with [Top Travel Massive Creators](/creators) and is made possible with the support of Stay22. Thanks Valerie for taking the time to share your story!*
How did you get started as a travel creator?
My blogging/content creation journey began in my home city of Seattle. I partnered with local tour companies, hospitality brands, tourism boards, and travel gear companies to build credibility as a travel writer. At 54, I took my first solo international trip to Italy after my friend bailed on me last minute. Although I was scared, I embraced the adventure — and it became the catalyst for exploring more countries and cultures abroad. Today, Portugal holds a special place in my heart, and after four visits, it remains my favorite destination.
How would you describe your content and your audience?
I create inspiring, experience-driven content for women 50+ who want to explore the world with confidence, curiosity and adventure. My content focuses on immersive travel that goes beyond traditional sightseeing, highlighting historic destinations, culinary experiences, coastal escapes, boutique stays, hidden gems, local shopping and meaningful connections with locals and communities. I create thoughtfully researched itineraries, destination guides, and travel inspiration designed to make global adventures feel approachable and achievable. My audience is made up of curious, independent travelers seeking authentic experiences, cultural discovery, and the confidence to embrace new and challenging adventures."
What platforms do you create on, and which has been most important to your growth?
My primary channels are my website: [mapleleopard.com](www.mapleleopard.com) and [Instagram](www.instagram.com/mapleleopard/), in addition to [Facebook](www.facebook.com/mapleleopard/), [Threads](www.threads.com/@mapleleopard), and [Pinterest](ca.pinterest.com/mapleleopard/).
I would say my website and Instagram have been most important for my growth. Instagram for building community and engagement and website for branding, expertise, and featuring my itinerary writing and photography skills.
What has been the biggest challenge you have faced as a travel creator?
The biggest challenge is monetization. Technical issues also bog me down at times, and constantly paying someone to fix or create landing pages, among other things, isn't financially sustainable. Additionally, I've found that most creators who monetize full-time have an assistant, because handling all these tasks alone is all-consuming and takes time away from actually creating and writing.
What does your content creation process look like?
I visit destinations, take tours, etc., while on location, capturing photos and videos, and also provide live coverage on social channels while there. On press tours, I sometimes interview locals and experts as part of the process. After I return home, I work on finding keywords, conducting research, writing articles, and summarizing the information I gathered while on assignment.
How do you work with travel brands, tourism boards, and destinations?
I enjoy working with travel brands, tourism boards, and destinations that are looking for authentic, engaging storytelling rather than just promotion.
Every partnership is unique, but my goal is always the same: to feature a destination in a way that inspires people to visit while providing helpful tips and itineraries.
To me, a successful partnership is built on trust, good communication, and creating content that has lasting value. I want brands to feel they've gained a genuine advocate who represents their destination professionally and with care.
What are your top tips for being successful with affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is one of the ways I currently monetize, but I'm not dependent on it. I use one platform for affiliates. It is a honed skill to be successful with affiliate marketing — you have to learn exactly how "buyers intent" works and that is the big challenge.
What advice would you give to someone starting out as a travel creator today?
Do your own research, pay for courses, be willing to invest in your journey and always treat it as a business.
What do you know now that you wish you had known at the beginning?
I wish I had started out on Wordpress from the get go, instead of Blogger. I also wish I had niched down my brand and website more from the start. I am trying to do that now after 12 years and its harder to niche down now.
Who inspires you — in travel, in content creation, or beyond?
I look up to [Helene In Between](www.instagram.com/heleneinbetween/) because she worked hard even when she was a small creator and not well known and did not give up when challenges came around. I admire fellow travel writer [Bejal](www.instagram.com/be_lavie/)'s content and look up to her for her focus on sustainable travel and leaving destinations as you found them, respecting the locals and their customs, and discouraging over-tourism.
What does the Travel Massive community mean to you?
To me, Travel Massive is about community, connection, and learning from others who share the same passion for travel.
I believe the best experiences come from collaborating, supporting one another, and continuing to learn. I'm excited to be part of a community that shares a genuine love of travel and the stories that inspire others to explore the world.
The travel industry is constantly evolving, and I value the opportunity to exchange ideas, gain new perspectives, and build meaningful relationships with fellow creators, tourism professionals, and destination experts.
How has being part of the network shaped your career or connected you with the industry?
Travel Massive has opened doors I never expected. Being featured as one of their [Top Travel Creators](www.travelmassive.com/creators) was an incredible honor and introduced my work to a much wider industry audience. Beyond the recognition, I love the local meetups and chapters around the world. They've given me the chance to connect with fellow creators, tourism professionals, and brands, while building genuine friendships with people who share the same passion for travel.
What's next in your travels?
I am going home to the The Kitsap Peninsula, Tacoma and Seattle to visit family and a cruise to Mexico in the fall. A trip back to Portugal is a given next year.
👏
Travel Massive's new [free industry report](/pages/growth-report-2026) on where travel's growth is really coming from in 2026, supported by Stripe, digs into insights from 129 travel professionals across 35 countries to help travel businesses cut through the noise and find out what's actually working.
A few highlights from the report:
* Political uncertainty is the #1 barrier to growth, cited by 34% of respondents ahead of rising acquisition costs (27%) and beating every operational challenge on the list.
* Travel companies talk loyalty but spend on acquisition: 59% say customer lifetime value is very important or business-critical to their growth strategy, yet 77% say their primary focus is chasing new customers, with only 23% prioritizing repeat customers.
* Partnerships, not paid ads, are the top growth priority for 2026: 65% named growing partnerships and distribution channels as their top priority.
* There's a widening "AI divide": travel tech companies feel ahead of competitors on AI (34% ahead vs. 11% behind), while tour operators feel left behind (45% behind vs. 14% ahead).
Inside [The New Growth Itinerary Report](/pages/growth-report-2026), you'll find insights and quotes you won't see anywhere else, covering where growth is really coming from, what's standing in the way, and how the industry is handling AI — straight from leaders at ICE Travel Group, Kensington, Railbookers Group, Memorii, oneworld Alliance, Regal Travel Management Group, and Kenwood Travel.
Download your copy today and see where the industry stands on growth, AI, and the road ahead.
To everyone in the Travel Massive community who responded to the initial survey thank you! This report is yours. You answered honestly and often surprisingly. My hope is that somewhere in these pages, you find the insight, the reassurance, or the nudge that helps your business take its next step
And to our partners at Stripe (and James Lemon in particular): thank you for backing this research and helping make it happen.
Special thanks also to the leaders who allowed us to quote them publicly: Stuart Barrett (ICE Travel Group), Jacqueline Grossman (Kensington), Frank Marini (Railbookers Group), Todd Tomlin (Memorii), Gilbert Ott (oneworld Alliance), Vivian Riga (Regal Travel Management Group) and Claire James (Kenwood Travel).
Great insights. Thank you
Thank you for sharing! I just finished the document, and I honestly was most surprised by some of the regional statistics for example, how Australian respondents were unanimous in naming partnerships as a top, if not THE top, priority. Unfortunately, I was not surprised by the statistics regarding AI usage 'leaving behind' SME's.
A real asset for our community. Thanks for the energy you put into this Matthew
We're Doing It Again: A Second Fundraising Adventure, This Time in Cambodia
Last year we sent a convoy of tuk-tuks across Sri Lanka and, almost by accident, raised a serious amount of money for a very good cause in the process. It went well enough that we've decided to make a habit of it.
This year, we're teaming up with CAFT, a UK-based charity, for our second fundraising adventure. The destination: Cambodia. The vehicle: still a tuk-tuk, obviously. The mission: get teams behind the wheel (or bar), raise money for a cause they care about, and have the kind of trip that doesn't fit neatly into a "wellness retreat" or "gap year" brochure.
🛺 How It Works
The model is refreshingly simple. A charity partners with us, teams sign up, and instead of asking people to run a marathon or shave their heads, we ask them to navigate a self-drive route across Cambodia in a vehicle with the structural integrity of a biscuit tin. Sponsorship money flows to the cause. Everyone goes home with a story that doesn't start with "so I did the London Marathon."
No spreadsheets of pledged-per-mile. No need to train for six months. Just an adventure that happens to double as a fundraising platform.
Why This Works (According to the Charities Themselves)
Here's what we've learned from the charities we've worked with, and it's more interesting than we expected: this kind of trip fills a gap that traditional fundraising challenges don't.
Not everyone who wants to raise money for a cause they care about can, or wants to, complete a physical challenge. Bad knees, busy lives, or simply zero interest in running 26.2 miles for charity are all valid reasons to sit out a marathon. But plenty of those same people are very much up for the kind of challenge that involves a map, a temperamental engine, questionable navigation, and a team counting on you not to get them lost in rural Cambodia.
It's challenging in a different way. Less lactic acid, more decision-making under pressure. Less "can my body do this," more "can my team and I figure this out together, ideally before dark."
Who Should Get in Touch
If you're a charity looking for a fundraising format that isn't another fun run, we'd like to hear from you.
If you run a community, a club, or a loosely organised group of enthusiastic amateurs who've been looking for an excuse to raise money for a cause you're genuinely passionate about, that works too.
And if you'd rather direct the fundraising toward local charities in the destination itself, supporting Cambodian causes on the ground, we're very much set up for that as well.
This isn't a trip that requires convincing yourself you love hills. It requires a sense of humour, a working knowledge of left and right, and a willingness to raise money for something that matters to you while doing something genuinely memorable.
Learn more at www.caft.co.uk/event/the-great-tuk-tuk-adventure-cambodia/
Interested? Get in touch and let's talk about what a partnership could look like.
Following last year's Sri Lanka trip, this is our second fundraising adventure, and we're already looking ahead to where it goes next! 🛺 💨
This is amazing!!
Hello, Travel Massive community!
I’m Phelokazi Mbebe, UCT's (University of Cape Town) Vacation Accommodation Manager, with over 16 years of experience in Tourism and Hospitality. I manage several hotels in Cape Town that not only accommodate students but also contribute to the university's third income stream.
My journey includes a master’s degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management and a focus on empowering women through leadership initiatives. I’ve proudly served on the FEDHASA Cape Board for five years where I mentored young professionals in our industry and as a member of the Women in Tourism Association,
I'm excited to share highlights from my recent experience at the Young Professional Youth Day event at ASARA, where I engaged with inspiring individuals and continued my mission of supporting and uplifting others in tourism. Join me as I share this journey and celebrate the power of community and mentorship!
What I love most is the power of collaboration in travel when we share knowledge and mentor one another, we all rise. Can’t wait to learn from you all.
Welcome. Onwards and Upwards
Thank you so much, glad to be back and active on this platform
Hey all!
Chronic traveler, recent college dropout, and all in on my new app, Soar. I'm a designer / ML engineer — started building this for myself.
I've been lucky to learn from people way smarter than me along the way, somehow the former Expedia CEO and ATTA board member Erik Blachford who backed me: www.linkedin.com/posts/stanley-virgint-933b3813b_i-never-thought-id-meet-one-of-my-heroeslet-activity-7298492522740273152-AyJA/
Would love to get feedback from the community and connect with anyone excited about agentic travel experiences.
You can download the app here — please feel free to roast me, I love real feedback: apps.apple.com/us/app/soar-travel/id6744338376
Hey Stanley! App looks cool! It links through Google though and I get nervous giving access to Gmail - is this how it pulls in all the bookings?
Thanks Casey! Yes email is what makes Soar work well. We're a google trusted partner and only see travel emails (our system has around ~600 travel platforms we have access to). It pulls only emails sent from this list of ~600 companies. Would love feedback if you have time!
This is very cool, congrats!
Great idea, honestly!
HERE'S THE NEXT 5 UPCOMING EVENTS:
Join us for our monthly travel meetup to discuss the latest news in travel, credit cards, and loyalty programs.
This month's event location is Hillside Hangout in Mt Juliet. It’s a laid-back spot with an outdoor patio featuring a playground and open space for kids to play while the adults talk travel.
Link to event pageJoin Travel Massive and Stay22 for the official launch of the 2026 Travel Creator Economy Study
Everyone has opinions on the travel creator economy. Now we have the data.
Be part of our LIVE webinar with Travel Massive and Stay22 as we unveil the 2026 Travel Creator Economy Study and explore the hard data behind what creators earn, what brands actually want, and where the real opportunities are hiding.
💻 LIVE Webinar (Online)
🗓️ Date: Wednesday, 29th July 2026
⏰ Time: 2 PM–3 PM BST (9 AM NYC / 3 PM Berlin / 9 PM Singapore)
✅ RSVP is essential. Register on this event page
👉 Join us LIVE for the event, plus a recording will be provided to all participants
With a US$200 billion total addressable market size, the travel creator economy has become one of the most influential forces shaping travel marketing, storytelling, and consumer decision-making. Yet there remains limited industry data on how creators and travel brands work together, what drives successful partnerships, and where the biggest opportunities and challenges exist.
Drawing on current insights from 500 creators, tourism boards, PR agencies, hospitality brands, tour operators, and marketing professionals worldwide this LIVE webinar will reveal the key findings and data from our comprehensive study.
You'll Hear From
• Matthew Gardiner, Webinar host and Director at London Travel Massive
• Felix Contant, Creator Partnerships at Stay22
• Kash Bhattacharya, Founder and Editor of the BudgetTraveller
• Carae Hilcher, Travel Blogger at Girl on a Zebra
What You'll Learn:
• The current state of the travel creator economy in 2026
• How creators and travel brands are collaborating today
• Key challenges facing both creators and travel businesses
• What travel organizations look for when selecting creator partners
• Opportunities to improve collaboration, transparency, and campaign performance
Who Should Attend?
— Travel Content Creators: Bloggers, influencers, journalists, photographers, videographers, YouTubers, podcasters, newsletter publishers, and digital storytellers looking to better understand industry trends and strengthen brand partnerships.
— Travel Industry Professionals: Destination marketing organizations, tourism boards, PR and communications agencies, marketing teams, hotels, accommodation providers, tour operators, experience providers, and travel brands seeking data-driven insights into creator collaborations.
Why Attend?
Whether you're a creator building new partnerships or a travel brand investing in creator marketing, this LIVE webinar will provide valuable research-backed insights to help you make better decisions, build stronger relationships, and achieve better outcomes. You'll also have the opportunity to ask questions, and discuss what the findings mean for the future of travel creator-industry collaboration.
About the Research
The 2026 Travel Creator Economy Study is a global research initiative led by Travel Massive supported by Stay22 and industry partners. The study was created to help establish a clearer understanding of the travel creator ecosystem and provide helpful benchmarks for both creators and travel businesses. By bringing together perspectives from across the industry, the research aims to support more effective partnerships and outcomes for everyone involved. Get your copy today at:
✅ Secure your spot today. Be among the first to access the findings and join the conversation shaping the future of the travel creator economy.
— We look forward to seeing you!
About Stay22
🚀 Stay22 gives creators a smarter way to monetize travel content across blogs, websites, and YouTube. It offers quick setup, clear performance tracking, and a way to start earning without rebuilding the content you already have. Learn more at tmsv.co/stay22
About Travel Massive
🌍 Travel Massive is the world's largest community of travel industry professionals, connecting people across the travel ecosystem in over 100 cities. If you're a creator in travel, then you'll fit right in around here. We're the OG of travel blogger meetups, connecting over 10,000 content creators with brands and destinations.
Link to event pageWe're excited to be discovering the new 25Hours Hotel The Olympia. Join us for a social and networking evening with Sydney Travel Massive and friends. Expect a warm welcome from our host in The Mulwray, their late-night cocktail and wine bar and a site visit of the hotel.
🏨 Venue: The Mulwray, 25Hours Hotel The Olympia, Paddington
📍Location: 11 Oxford Street, Paddington (maps.app.goo.gl/DmGWwSJ35eivC53cA)
🗓️ Date: Thursday, 20th August 2026
🕕 Time: 6pm onwards
🪩 Dress Code: A little different from our usual, feel free to dress it up, think your stylish friend's living room
🥂 Welcome drink on arrival, charcuterie
🏨 About the venue: 25hours Hotels are quirky and sophisticated, The Olympia blends the charm of its art house theatre roots with modern design. The Mulwray is their late-night venue with low lighting, rich textures, and Sydney's best cocktail and wine selection.
👉 Spaces are limited, RSVP is essential
Looking forward to seeing you on Thursday August 20th
Link to event pageJoin Top Travel Innovators, Creators, and Marketers at Travel Massive Asia Conference 2026, in Da Nang, Vietnam on August 21-22.
Travel Massive Asia Conference 2026 will be hosted across two days in Da Nang (Friday 21st to Saturday 22nd August) with a focus on innovation, creation, and marketing in travel, featuring: expert-led workshops, industry panels, founder interviews, a startup pitch competition, tourism and creator masterclasses, and community activations.
See our full speaker lineup (updated 17 July) for 2026: www.travelmassive.com/posts/join-us-at-travel-massive-asia-conference-2026-updated-790035485
The Conference for Travel Innovation, Creation, and Marketing
Day 1 (Conference) will be hosted on the final day of HorecFex (20-21 August) — the premier technology event for the tourism and hospitality industry in Vietnam which attracts over 4,000 attendees including senior hospitality executives and features 80 exhibition booths from local and international vendors.
Day 2 (Masterclasses) will take place at Namia River Retreat, a five-star villa resort, wellness and meeting space in the historic town of Hoi An — a UNESCO World Heritage Site, featuring small-group tourism and creator masterclasses led by experts from the Travel Massive network, followed by an exclusive after party to celebrate two days of learnings and new connections.
🏝️ The conference will be hosted at the Ariyana Convention Centre, a 5-star conference facility built for the 25th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, located in the centre of the beachfront Ariyana Danang Tourism Complex.
🇻🇳 Da Nang is the largest city in Central Vietnam and a regional hub for Vietnam's fast growing tourism market, which welcomed a record 21+ million international tourists in 2025 and is the 3rd largest travel destination in South East Asia. Vietnam's top inbound source markets include the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, India, and Russia.
👉 This is an exclusive event for: travel industry professionals, tourism operators, travel startups, verified travel creators, influencers and KOLs, and relevant industry experts and media.
🤩 This is your opportunity to learn from and meet with like-minded professionals and founders from across the tourism, hospitality, and online travel sectors in South East Asia and beyond. We look forward to welcoming you!
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Tickets and Registration
General Admission Tickets to Travel Massive Asia Conference 2026 Da Nang (21-22 August) are now available to purchase and includes entry to HorecFex Hospitality Exhibition and Forum (20-21 August). Some restrictions apply:
• Morning workshops on Day 1 are limited to 100 seats.
• Masterclasses on Day 2 are subject to group capacity and availability.
To secure your spot at Travel Massive Asia Conference 2026 Da Nang:
✅ Sign in to your Travel Massive profile, or create an account (it's free)
✅ Purchase a ticket using the "Buy Ticket" link on this event page
✅ Book your flights and accommodation to attend (see FAQ for tips)
Tickets are non-transferrable. You can get a full refund 30 days prior to the event.
FAQ: Where to stay / how to get there:
• Day 1 will be hosted at the Ariyana Convention Centre in Da Nang, Vietnam.
• Day 2 will be hosted in Hoi An town at Namia River Retreat.
• The official hotel is Furama Resort (a 10 minute walk to the convention centre).
• There are many hotel options nearby the convention centre and in Da Nang city.
• Fly direct to Da Nang International Airport (DAD) from international hubs including Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, or transit via Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) or Hanoi.
• Bus and train from HCMC (Saigon) to Da Nang (allow a full day, at least).
• Get an Electronic Visa for Vietnam at evisa.gov.vn (for US and other citizens)
• We recommend to extend your stay to explore nearby sights and Central Vietnam!
Questions or need advice? Contact us at asia@travelmassive.com
Check out highlights from our 2025 conference: www.travelmassive.com/posts/photos-from-travel-massive-asia-conference-2025-in-da-nang-vietnam-401401759
Link to event pageTIS2026: The New Generation of Travel & Hotel Tech
Get ready to reimagine the tourism industry with the most cutting-edge technology showcased at TIS2026!
In an increasingly connected and innovative world, the tourism sector is transforming. The fusion between the travel industry and technology is opening up a world of endless possibilities. From trip planning to destination experiences, every aspect of the traveler’s journey is being reinvented thanks to technological advances. From intuitive mobile applications to augmented reality systems, innovation is elevating the way we explore the world. In this exciting journey towards the future, TIS 2026 stands as the epicenter of change.
Join us from October 6th to 8th 2026, as we explore the latest trends and technological solutions that are transforming the travel industry. This year Tourism Innovation Summit 2026 offers you a unique opportunity to showcase your latest and greatest advancements to +8,000 Tourism professionals.
Learn more at www.tisglobalsummit.com
Link to event pageThe heartbeat of the global business events industry.
IMEX America is the largest trade show for the global meetings, events and incentive travel industry.
Our award-winning show brings the meetings industry together to do a year’s worth of business under one roof. Suppliers and buyers from every sector of the meetings industry come together at IMEX, held at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas.
Our free-to-attend four-day program offers specialist education, networking and much more, on and off the trade show floor.
Talking Point: Design Matters
In 2026–2027, we’re making Design Matters our Talking Point. Because good design isn’t just good business—it’s how things work, feel and change us.
Design is the ultimate differentiator. It’s design that helps organizations, brands and events stand out and be remembered. So, we’re inviting the global events industry to embrace design as a business superpower. Because it matters.
Where is IMEX America held?
Welcome to Las Vegas! IMEX takes place at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Mandalay Bay is the fifth largest convention center in the US, with 2.1 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space. Just a short car ride from the airport, Mandalay Bay is located on the dazzling Las Vegas Strip.
Learn more at america.imexevents.com
Link to event pageHere's the 10 latest classified ads:
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